Deaths Door
by Starnova1122
Summary: Ezra Bridger. So bright-eyed, and enthusiastic, and with the personality of a Mooka-pup. But when he catches a terrible disease, everyone else in the crew faces the same fear, of losing their youngest. But what does Sabine have to fear the most? Could it be the pain of losing another, who has become like family over these years? Or could it be- something beyond that?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Star Wars Rebels, nor any characters, place names, or content that appears in this story. This is a fan fiction and does not necessarily comply with the actual Star Wars timeline. Rated T for mild violence, romance, and content that may disturb.**

Ezra Bridger sat with the rest of the crew, his brow furrowed and his tongue between his cheeks as he stared down at the holotable, where little people just stood, blasters in hand, waiting for orders. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, squeezed several knobs and dials so

that two of his back lines walked off the board, and his front lines drew back. Garazeb Orrelios threw back his head and laughed.

"You're in for it now kid!" He exclaimed, and with several button pushes, sent his entire army after Ezra's. Ezra himself just smiled, and pushed another knob on the side of the board. Just as Zeb's army reached the centre point, there was a loud BANG and Zeb's base went up in flames. The angry Lasat stared from the board to Ezra, who had clapped his hands and put them behind his head.

"And that," he announced triumphantly, "is how you do a stealth op."

"Why you little frierfrek, I'll get you!" Roared the Lasat, and Ezra leaped backwards off of the couch and dashed from the room, still laughing his head off and with an angry Lasat on his tail.

Kanan looked from Sabine to Hera, who just shrugged and said,

"Tuesday, Kanan. Tuesday."

There was a loud _CRASH_ from the cargo bay, and Hera looked up.

"I hope that wasn't the holobooks." _CRASH_. "And I had them all stacked by subject, too!"

The others reached the cargo bay to find Zeb struggling to get off of him what looked like half the contents of the room, and Ezra nowhere to be seen. Kanan lifted the stuff of of Zeb with the Force, and Zeb exclaimed,

"That kid! Honestly, Kanan, you had to teach him that stuff!"

As if on cue, Ezra dropped from the balcony, smirking widely.

"I don't need the Force to beat you, Zeb." He chuckled.

"Why you little-!"

But whatever he had been about to say was cut off when someone spoke.

"Not interrupting anything, am I?"

Kanan whipped around so fast his back hurt. Standing at the bottom of the ramp, arms crossed, was the least person he would expect to see.

Ezra was standing at the bottom of the cargo ramp.

 **Me: Aaaaand... We're done. First chapter finished, good work everyone.**

 **Ezra: Wait, I thought I was in the cargo bay with the others!**

 **Me: You were.**

 **Ezra: Then how was I in two places at once?**

 **Me: You'll see!**

 **Ezra: I hate suspense.**


	2. Greetings and Problems

Kanan's eyes boggled as he stared from the Ezra standing at the bottom of the cargo ramp, to the Ezra standing behind him, smiling widely. He rounded on the one at the bottom of the cargo ramp, and drew his blaster.

"Who are you?"

"Kanan, relax," the Ezra standing behind him exclaimed. "That's my brother you're shouting at."

"Oh…"

As he moved closer, the resemblance between Ezra and his brother became more diminished. His hair was longer, and his jaw was set in a somewhat stronger position, giving him the look of an older brother. Nevertheless, both could have passed as the other. Ezra walked forward, and spread his arms wide.

"Caleb! How are ya' doing buddy? I haven't seen you in years!"

"Ezra! You've grown!"

The two hugged, and Kanan came to realise they were within an inch in height. He glanced at the others, who were all standing, mouths open, staring at the two. Finally, they broke apart, and Ezra explained.

"I should have said. We were separated at birth to hide us from the Empire. Caleb lived with my uncle for a a few years. We met up when my parents were kidnapped."

Kanan remembered how to use his vocal cords at last, but when he did, he found himself at a loss of what to say.

"Well… Um… Hello Caleb." Hera finally stammered. "I'm Hera. This is Sabine, and-"

"Don't worry! Ezra told me all about you in his letters, and bade me to come should I bring news."

"So you do?" Asked Ezra.

"Yeah." Caleb replied. "But might we go inside? I brought refreshments."

"Of course."

Inside the Ghost, everyone seated themselves around the table, while Caleb grabbed out of his bag, a small glass bottle filled with a scarlet liquid. At a nod from Kanan, Zeb poured the liquid into six glasses, and each raised their cup.

"And now," said Caleb, "to freedom!"

"Freedom!" Everyone else chanted, and drank. When they had all put their glasses down, Caleb addressed Ezra.

"Sullust is falling from Imperial control. Another few rotations and the Sullustans may overthrow the Empire completely."

"And is doing so with your help?" Ezra said.

"I sent word to the Rebellion, and they sent reinforcements to help."

"That's good. I heard the news of Titoria Station, though. A tragedy."

"Yes, but all the same, Darth Vader was present during that onslaught so we really couldn't have expected any different."

As they talked, Kanan glanced over at Hera. She was frowning very intently at something. Just before he could say something, the holotable beeped.

Hera jumped immediately.

"It's a comm from Fulcrum. Put it through, Chop."

An image of a figure wearing a dark hood appeared on screen. Caleb's eyes widened. He was obviously impressed by something.

"You're in contact with Ahsoka?" He said. "I've only met her once, and on that occasion, we were both getting shot at. Yeah… Long story."

"Ahsoka…" Kanan repeated, giving Hera a very clear look that said she would have a lot of explaining to do.

" _Ahh…"_ Said Fulcrum, once the talk had died down. "I see you have met an ally of ours, Caleb Bridger."

"Fulcrum." Caleb said, bowing. "I just came to see my brother, and to tell him the news of Sullust…"

 _"Sullust has fallen. The Imperial fleet flees the system as we speak. My agents just brought word."_ Fulcrum interrupted them.

"I'm glad to hear that," Hera said. "Now we…"

But Ezra didn't hear the last part. He was leaning against the doorway, and had suddenly developed the strangest headache. He winced, and raised a hand to his temple. He felt a strange curdling feeling in his ears, and Hera's voice swam in and out of focus, like it was coming from a badly tuned radio. He swayed slightly on the spot.

"Ezra? Are you okay?" Kanan said.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine."

But in actual fact he was not fine. Little lights burst on and off in his head, and his vision swam. He felt his knees buckling, and his eyes rolling into the back of his head. He crashed to the ground. The last thing he heard, was a bunch of disembodied voices.

 _"Ezra? Ezra!"_

 _"Oh my god, what's happening?"_

 _"Quick! Get him to the medbay!"_

 _"Oh no, EZRA! EZRA!"_

 _"Brother, hold on…"_

 **Ezra: I have a brother!**

 **Me: And a fatal disease.**

 **Ezra: Stang.**

 **Sabine: Your not going to kill him, though, are you?**

 **Ezra: Yeah, please don't... Wait, why would you care, Sabine?**

 **Sabine: (blushes) No reason. (Runs for it)**

 **Ezra: Wow. She really can act weird sometimes.**

 **Me: Tell me about it.**

 **Ezra: Yeah. Sooo... Are you going to kill me?**

 **Me: I will if your still here yapping when I open my eyes.**


	3. Houston, We Have So Many Problems

_Pain._

 _Terrible pain._

 _Am I… Dead?_

 _No…_

 _Not dead…_

 _Can't… Move…_

 _Voices… I hear voices…_

 _They sound… Afraid._

 _I need to move… To help them…_

 _Move…_

 _Pain._

 _Terrible pain._

"He's going to be fine, right?"

"I can't tell, Sabine."

"What happened? Allergy?"

"Impossible. Lothalian blood is resistant to allergies. My brother couldn't have had one."

"Hera, his temps up another few degrees!"

Hera jumped, and, rushing to the Hydrosink, she slapped yet another wet cloth on Ezra's forehead.

It was an hour after Ezra's collapse, and the medbay was filled as never before.

Zeb was leaning against the wall next to the door, looking scared and upset, his eyes staring blankly into space. Kanan stood next to Caleb, who was sitting on one of the plastic chairs, his hands covering his face, looking as sweaty and pale as the boy lying on the bench before them. Hera was bustling around, never staying in one place or doing one thing for too long. And Sabine sat in another one of the chairs next to Ezra's head, absentmindedly brushing the hair out of his eyes.

They all sat in silence for a little while more, before it became apparent that there was no more point in staying there. Slowly, the they drifted off to bed, Caleb leaving for Capital City, until only Sabine and Hera remained in the medbay. Hera seemed immersed in her computer readouts, and didn't immediately register the fact that she had company.

"You'd better get to bed, Sabine. I'll do what I can for him."

Sabine shook her head vigorously. "I'm not tired," she said.

Hera tried to press her to get some sleep, but Sabine flat-out refused.

At about 11 o'clock, Hera set the computers on auto-care and left for her room. Sabine pretended to follow, but doubled back, and sat in the medbay with Ezra. She wasn't exactly sure why she was doing this. But she dismissed those thoughts, concentrating on Ezra's pale, blank face.

The next morning, when Hera re-entered the medbay, she smiled at the sight of Sabine, slumped in one of the chairs, eyes shut so tight you could have sworn she was dead if she wasn't breathing.

When everyone had woken up, and Caleb returned to check on his brother, Hera was looking once again very grim, all signs of happiness gone from her pale face.

"Ezra is sick. Really sick, I just don't know what he's got yet. But it's getting worse."

No one spoke. Everyone was thinking the same thing, but no one wanted to say it. Kanan spoke first.

"What specifically is wrong with Ezra? Like, can he speak, or anything?"

"That's what's confusing me," Hera said, with a failed attempt at a grim smile. "He seems to be in some sort of deep, meditative state. Not really asleep, or unconscious. Just… There. I can't make any sense of it. His symptoms don't match any I've ever seen, and the medical scans just come up blank!"

"So… He's got an unknown disease, and considering it's unknown, it could be contagious. We could all have got it by now." Kanan said. No one else spoke for a long time, and Hera began to walk back to the medbay, when Sabine voiced the concern that was on everyone's mind.

"Is it… Fatal?"

Hera stopped dead. But when she turned, Sabine could see the ghost of what looked like… Tears, in Hera's eyes.

"Whatever he's got, it's slowly burning away at his bloodstream, and will eventually reach his heart. So for all intents and purposes… Yes. It is entirely fatal."


	4. Breakdown

_Cold._

 _It hurts._

 _Moaning._

 _That's what I am reduced to._

 _Trying to speak… To warn…_

 _They are all in danger._

 _Terrible danger._

 _Must speak…_

 _Moaning…_

 _Cold._

 _It hurts._

The news that Ezra had a fatal and unknown disease seemed to act as a stimulat for depression among the crew of rebels.

Hera was now spending close to all of her time in the medbay, trying desperately to figure out what was causing Ezra such terrible pain. Kanan sat beside her at all times, helping in whatever way he could, or simply sitting with his head bowed, muttering to himself, as though praying or saying incantations.

Zeb was acting weirder and weirder. He began spending more time shut up in his room, pouring over books about his old religion. This surprised everyone, not least because they had never seen him to read anything more than two-word sentences before, which were usually price tags for bigger blasters.

And Sabine simply sat in the medbay with a holopad, researching symptoms and illnesses. The only thing she had managed to find, however, was a description of a sudden and unexpected collapse, just like the one that Ezra had had, in a list of old poisons.

One night, something happened that made all of their previous whims seem laughable.

Hera was sitting with Kanan and Sabine in the medbay, looking over Ezra's vitals. She glanced at the screen, looked away, and then did a double-take and looked back.

Ezra's vital signs were spiking.

They were now level with consciousness… He ought to come round… But… No, something was wrong. They were going of the charts.

Ezra twitched.

Everyone immediately raised their heads from whatever they were doing, and stared at him. His hands curled into fists, but just as Hera reached for a med scan, she suddenly jumped back and screamed.

Ezra was still lying in the bed, but as she watched, he frantically began waving his fists around. His body tossed and turned around as he seemed to have a silent, but equally terrifying tantrum.

"Oh my god! He's having a seizure!"

"He's breaking up!"

"DO SOMETHING!"

Kanan dove for the med table, but one of Ezra's flying fists connected with the side of his head, and he ducked and lost track of things. He heard a woman's voice screaming, and the door opening, followed by Caleb's voice saying, "what the HELL is going on!" Followed quickly by, "BROTHER!" And he heard Zeb give a strange cry of mingled horror and anguish…

And Hera dashed to the medicine cabinet, but in her hurry, she tripped over something, and the doors burst open, showering the Twi-Lek woman with vials and needles, all filled with different colours that all scattered on the floor.

And when Kanan thought things couldn't get any worse, it did.

Ezra was bleeding now.

Blood, a dark, scarlet red, was gushing out of his mouth, his nose, his ears, at an alarming rate. It splurted everywhere, flying through the air and staining the bedsheets. And Sabine screamed, as Hera saw, finally, the vial she was looking for. Knocking aside a needle filled with a bubbling orange liquid, she siezed the vial and injected into Ezra's leg, the whole of the churning, sickly-green contents.

And his movements immediately became less and less frantic. The fountain of blood flying from his face was immediately quelled, and he became still and silent once more.

 **Ezra: Aaaaannd... Again with the 'Ezra whump' story. Knew it had to start somewhere.**

 **Me: Hey! Where were you last chapter?**

 **Ezra: Oh, me and the guys, we went and grabbed a soda.**

 **Kanan: But you were there for the chapter!**

 **Ezra: That was a life-sized manaquin of me! It's not like I really needed to lie on a table for a few hours.**

 **Me: Hey! How'd you get in here, Kanan?**

 **Kanan: The back door was unlocked.**

 **Me: I don't have a back door.**

 **Zeb: I know. I made him one.**

 **Me: (goes downstairs) What did you do- AAARGH!**

 **Sabine: What's going on? And that large hole there is an interesting decoration idea, Starnova.**

 **Me: WHERE'S THAT LASAT?!**


	5. He's Not Sick

**Hi everyone!**

 **Sorry to keep everyone waiting. I've been to Wellington, and my Wi-Fi decided it didn't like me anymore, but I'm finally here. And to any sorry to all the five hundred and three people that commented a want for a new chapter, I've made this one extra-long.**

 _Moving._

 _I'm moving._

 _Legs… No… Not legs._

 _Something carrying me._

 _My bed…_

 _And now, I feel vibrating…_

 _And lifting…_

 _I'm in a starship._

 _Moving._

 _I'm moving._

Hera left the cockpit of the Phantom, and entered the passenger area. Ezra lay stretched across three seats, and the others sat opposite him, and barely looked up as Hera entered.

"Autopilot set. We're headed for some backwater planet called 'Tatooine'."

"Why there?" It was the first time Sabine had spoken since the outburst, several weeks previously.

"It's the closest inhabited planet we could reach. I don't think Ezra's really up for long journeys. But we need medicine, plus some thing to help me identify exactly what's wrong with him."

No one else spoke, and several hours later, the ship touched down amid high sand dunes.

"We really ought to leave someone here?" Kanan said warily. "To keep an eye on him?"

Once everyone saw her expression, there was really no question, and a few minutes later, the Corellian, the Lasat, and the Twi'lek bade goodbye to the young Mandalorian, and strode carefully over the sand dunes and out of sight.

Sabine sighed, and re-entered the passenger area. She sat on one of the seats opposite Ezra, and simply stared at him, her head swimming.

Because for the first time in her life, Sabine was scared.

She was afraid, not for herself, but for another. She couldn't lose Ezra. Not Ezra. Not the boy who had become like family over the years. She had already lost her parents. She couldn't lose anyone else she lov-

She stopped herself thinking abruptly. She shook her head, as though trying to dislodge water from her ears. She didn't think about him like that.

Did she?

 _CLANG_.

Sabine was snapped out of her thoughts by a loud sound of someone bashing against the wall. After glancing quickly at Ezra, who still lay fast asleep, she heard it again.

 _CLANG CLANG._

Whoever was making that noise, Sabine thought, was really making an effort. She slowly got to her feet, and left the passenger area, out into the warm sunshine. She crept out of the door, and stopped.

Huge scratch markes had appeared on the side of the ship, deep gashes that looked as though they were made by some kind of blade. Barely had she registered this fact, when she was hit in the back by something.

She fell forwards on her hands and knees, and she heard a loud voice behind her, laughing in some extremely wierd way.

" _HERDHERDHERDHERD_!"

Rolling onto her back, Sabine saw the thing just as it brought a long and deadly-looking staff back into position, ready for another strike.

The figure was cloaked in beige robes, and their was a heavy, clumsy-looking mask covering its face. It looked quite disgusting as it waved it's staff over it's head and did it's war cry again.

Sabine reacted instinctively. As the creature brought the staff down towards her chest, she kicked her legs wildly. One of them connected with it's chest, and the thing stumbled. Sabine wrenched the staff out of the creatures hand, and impaled him with it. He gave a horrible yell, and Sabine pulled the staff out of the creature's body, as five more of them dropped out of seemingly nowhere. Sabine backed away, blocked a heavy strike made by one of them, only to duck under it and slice that hand clean away. The thing gave a scream of pain, and ran wildly at Sabine, but she ducked and swung the staff in an upside-down pendulum motion, so that the creatures head was seperated from its body with a loud ' _squelch_ '. The four left advanced at once, and one of them caught Sabine in the back of the neck with the flat bit of its axe. Sabine gasped and choked, dropping her staff. Cold hands grabbed her shoulders and forced her down as the fourth stepped in front of her, and raised its staff.

Sabine cowered, knowing that she was going to die. Die at the hands of savages, of animals. A cold sense of horror gripped her.

Ezra.

He would be killed. And when the others got back… Would they survive? Would they be-

But a loud _CRACK_ interrupted her thoughts. Startled, she tensed, before realising that the shot had not been intended for her.

The fourth swayed, blood pouring from the side of its head, where a large chunk of its head had been blown away. He took two steps to the side, and crashed to the floor.

The creatures immediately released Sabine, and turned quickly on the spot, searching for the sniper. Sabine's eyes scanned the scene.

Another _CRACK_ , a flash of yellow light, and the one of the creature's companions dropped where he stood. Sabine's eyes flickered to the sand dunes, and she saw, on the top of the furtherest one, she saw the glint of sun on a polished surface.

The remaining two creatures screamed, and dropped their weapons, before turning tail and sprinting away in the opposite direction. However, there was another flash of yellow light, and one of them keeled over and died before he hit the sand. His companion did not stop, and continued until he scrambled over a sand dune, and out of sight.

Sabine stood, slowly and carefully, watching the things as they disappeared over the dunes. She jumped as she headed another set of footprints, and spun on her heels, but all she saw was a young boy with sandy hair jogging towards her. He wore pale desert robes, and his expression was kind, but at the same time, he had the distinctive air of a man wishing he were someone else. This was evidently a bad place to grow up in. In his hands, he held a heavy-looking Slugthrower rifle. He stopped, and peered into the distance, where the creatures had disappeared.

"Bloody Sandpeople. Can't even leave a small ship here without them just ripping it apart for fun." He muttered to himself. Sabine finally remembered how to use her vocal cords.

"S… Sandpeople?"

"Sandpeople, Tuskin Raiders, Urio Dentra, whatever you wanna call them. Looked like you got in quite a fix." He said vacantly, not even looking at her, but continuing to peer over the dunes.

"Ah… Yeah. Thanks, um…"

The boy seemed to interpret the silence correctly, because he turned to look at her, and held out his hand.

"Oh, right. Ah, Skywalker. Luke Skywalker."

"Sabine Wren."

They shook hands, and Luke's eyes seemed to pop out of his skull as he eyed her up and down. Sabine did realise how weird she must look.

"Not from around here are you?"

"Ah… No."

"Didn't think so. What are you doing here?"

Sabine thought carefully before answering. This boy had saved his life, and besides, having a native to help them might be useful.

"It's a friend of ours. He's really sick. We landed here, but I stayed behind, in case of…" She nudged one of the dead Sandpeople with his toe.

Luke smiled, but seemed thoughtful at the same time.

"What's he got?" He asked.

"That's the problem." Sabine answered truthfully. "We have no idea."

"Hmmm… Look, this may be a strange request, but why not let me take a look at him? I worked with diseases for several years. Maybe I can be of assistance."

"I don't know…" The idea seemed quite tempting, but Sabine remembered that this boy was still a complete stranger, and for all she knew, a possible Imperial spy.

Luke seemed to know what was wrong, because he slowly stuck the barrel of his Slugthrower in the sand.

"Look." He said. "I'm unarmed. Any indication I'm up to no good, and you can kill me. I won't be able to stop you."

Sabine seemed satisfied with this, and led him into the passenger area, making sure to keep a firm eye on his hands.

As soon as he saw Ezra, his face went from confident to concerned in a heartbeat. Without a word, he went to work.

Sabine had never seen a more bizarre examination. Luke's hands dashed across Ezra's arms, they traced the lifelines on his palm, fingered the veins on his wrist, tilted his head back to get a decent look at his neck, felt his pulse, all the while frowning more and more. Finally, he stood up.

"I don't mean to push you," he began. "But you wouldn't happen to have a sample of his blood, would you?"

"Oh, um…"

As a matter of fact, they did. Hera had had several samples since his outbreak all those weeks ago. Dashing to the cabinet, Sabine rummaged through vials and glasses of all sorts, until she found a minuscule glass container filled with a deep crimson liquid. Grabbing it, she passed it to the young farmboy, who took it, and held it up to the light. His face reached its lowest ever. He put the container down, and turned to Sabine, a grim expression clearly visible on his face.

"He's not sick." He said simply.

Sabine blinked, not sure she had heard right.

"What?"

"He's not sick."

"But that's impossible, it… But then, what's wrong with him?"

Luke stared at her very firmly before answering.

"He's been poisoned."

 **Me: Finally! I have been waiting for ever to put a Luke Skywalker cameo in my stories!**

 **Ezra: I HAVE BEEN POISONED AND YOU'RE WORRYING ABOUT A CAMEO?!**

 **Me: I wouldn't be shouting if I were you.**

 **Ezra: why not?**

 **Me: Because I, unlike you, have the power to kill you at any moment.**

 **Ezra: That's IT! (Pulls out lightsaber)**

 **Me: You asked for it! (Pulls out iPad.) _And so, the young, Ezra Bridger, died an incredibly painful death._ (Puts finger over the _post new chapter_ button.) Do you want this?**

 **Ezra: No... No, please, anything but that!**

 **Me: (Puts iPad down.) Then don't yell at me again. Now get back to your station.**

 **Ezra: Yes SIR. (With as much contempt as he could into the last syllable)**


	6. Trivia

**Bit of Star Wars trivia: Tuskin Raiders earn said nickname for their constant raids on Fort Tuskin.**


	7. An Inside Man

_Must speak._

 _Must warn…_

 _They're in danger._

 _I must tell them…_

 _I've been poisoned…_

 _Must tell them… Who…_

 _Must speak._

 _Must warn…_

Hera checked the computer screen one more time, and turned to the rest of the crew, all who stood in the medbay, anxious expressions on their faces as they all stared at Ezra, who lay, quite still, on the table.

"Examination finished."

"And?" Kanan asked, hardly daring to believe it.

"No idea." Said Hera, and Kanan felt his face fall. "Scanners detect no anomalies in his blood. From this point on, all we can do is hope that, whatever's wrong with him, it gets better on its own."

"There's no chance of that."

Everyone turned to look at Zeb. They had never heard him speak like that. He was slumped against the wall, white as a sheet. But before Kanan could enquire further into this, someone screamed.

Kanan yelled in surprise, his cries mingling with those of the boy lying in the medbay.

For Ezra was screaming again. Hera had the restraining straps on, and he struggled against the ropes, screaming in pain. His eyes snapped open, but whatever he could see, or hear, it was clearly causing him terrible pain. Hera dived for the cabinet, but before she reached it, she froze in horror.

Blood was pouring from his ears, his nose, his mouth, choking his cries, but this time it leaked out of his tear ducts, from under his fingernails, seemingly everywhere from it could come. And he screamed more and more, struggling against the straps, blood flying everywhere.

Kanan couldn't tell whose screams were whose now, and whose were his. Hera seemed to finally remember where she was, and wrenched open the cupboard doors, grabbed a vial of the same green liquid she had used before, and injected the contents into his body. The flow of blood stopped immediately, and his eyes closed as he fell into unconsciousness.

"Kanan?"

Kanan rolled over in his bed, and stuffed his head into his pillow, trying to believe he had imagined the voice.

"Kanan?"

Kanan coughed, and made a sleepy grab for his comlink. However, he missed, and after a loud crash and several choice words, Kanan disentangled himself from the blanket on the durasteel floor, and swiped for his comlink again.

"Kanan. Cockpit. Now." Came a voice from his comlink. He shakily stood up, and left his room, grumbling to himself.

When Kanan knocked on the cockpit door, Hera opened it and led him in. As soon as he was in, she locked the door behind him.

"Kanan," she said, her expression grim. "I've got news. And I guarantee you won't wanna hear it."

Kanan looked more terrified than ever as he sat in one of the chairs. Hera pulled a screen closer to them, and switched it on, showing what looked like a security reading.

"I've been looking through Ezra's blood scans, and there's something here that doesn't add up."

"Who said it was in his blood?"

"The poison evaded regular biometric scans, and you'll notice both outbreaks had been his body trying to cleanse itself of its blood. I can add two and two together, Kanan."

"Good to hear it." Kanan said. "So what did you find?"

"Armadine Tipertinera." Hera said mysteriously.

"Wha-"

"A lethal, slow-acting and deadly poison. I found traces of it in Ezra's blood. It contaminates the blood and forces the cells apart from each other. Slow, painful, and completely deadly. And it gets worse. You'll never believe who manufacturers it."

Kanan felt a sick feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with the dinner he had eaten.

"It was created for the Lasat Honour Guard."

Kanan drew a sharp intake of breath that was never heard. _It couldn't be… It wouldn't…_

 _"But… But… How could…"_

Hera seemed to read it correctly, for she said,

"Zeb poured that wine, the day Caleb arrived. It would have been the perfect opportunity to slip something into the bottle."

" _But… But…"_ Kanan spluttered, still desperately trying to find a way that it wasn't… That Zeb really hadn't…

"But wouldn't we all have been poisoned? If it was in the bottle, you know…"

"The poison only affects certain blood types. A Lothalians resistance to allergies means that this poison was created to succeed where others couldn't. It only affects Lothalian blood."

Kanan and Hera stared at each other for a long time. Then, finally, Kanan spoke.

"Go… Go and wake the kids. Bring them to the lounge area. And contact Caleb as well."

Hera nodded, and, patting Kanan on the shoulder as she walked, left the cockpit.

 **Ezra: _Woooo! I am the ghost of Ezra Bridger! I bring a warning. Dark times, are ahead, should you kill Ezra at the hands of-_**

 **Me: Ezra get your head out of my flour. You are not a ghost OR dead.**

 **Ezra: Sorry, I'll just clean this... Oh. Oh boy. Does this stuff come off? Oh... Wow. Ah... Well, you finally have a unique kichen. All this... Flour everywhere.**

 **Me: THAT WAS MY LAST BAG! YOU GET BACK HERE!**

 **Ezra: AAHAAAAAH! (Runs)**

 **Me: (chases)**

 **Zeb: those two. Always picking on me.**

 **Sabine: To be fair, you kinda did almost get him killed once.**

 **Zeb: Hey!**

 **Sabine: And the time before that... And the time before that... And that time... You almost crushed him... And when we first met him, you let him get captured...**

 **Zeb: Oh shut up you.**


	8. Revelations

Zeb stared from Kanan to Hera as though hoping the latter might contradict him.

"No way!" He roared.

Kanan took a step closer to Zeb, his chest heaving.

"It was found in his blood." He said. "And as you poured the wine, it would have been the perfect opportunity to poison the bottle."

"THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I DIDN'T DO IT!"

"YOU MONSTER!"

Caleb rose from his chair, a terrible look on his face.

"YOU POISONED MY BROTHER! It makes sense. You, with an old prejudice, would have had the perfect means, motive and opportunity! You took your chance, and poisoned him with the wine I gave him!"

"NO! I DID NOT POISON HIM! I'VE BEEN FRAMED!"

"YOU LIER!"

"No."

If Kanan had not seen her lips move, he would never have believed Sabine would have spoken. He had never heard that tone from her.

Sabine rose out of her chair, and started, not towards Zeb, but towards Caleb.

"The poison couldn't have been in all of our drinks. Or else…" She paused, and pointed at Caleb. "He would have been poisoned too. Unless… But, no. It couldn't be…?"

Caleb backed away, a bemused expression on his face.

"Really, Sabine… You're quite clever!"

His uppercut hit Sabine squarely in the jaw. She flew across the room, looking slightly punch-drunk for a moment, and then crashed onto the couch.

Kanan spun around, staring at Caleb, but the latter had already pulled out a concealed blaster pistol, and was aiming straight at Kanan's heart. With a jolt, he realised he had left his weapons in his room. A glance at the others told him they had done the same.

"Why, Caleb?" The Corellian said, malice and confusion filling his every syllable. Caleb began to slowly edge towards the door, keeping the blaster trained on Kanan's heart.

"Because he was WEAK!" Yelled Caleb, and his voice seemed to fill the room. "Because he crouched behind the bodies of older and greater people. Because he was an unnecessary leaf on a topiary. And, when the leaves appear-" he mimed cutting something off something else. "We trim it away. And now, I have done that."

"He was your BROTHER!"

"Oh, believe me, Kanan, I know. I knew it for years. My perfect brother, somehow, always more admirable. He was too weak to fight, and yet, everyone loved him for it, somehow. BUT NOW, KANAN," he roared, suddenly fierce. "NOW I AM THE MORE POWERFUL, NOW I AM THE BETTER CHILD! You, Kanan, and all your friends, will watch him die, painfully."

And with that, he holstered his blaster, and ran off down the hall.

Caleb had already left the passenger area by the time everyone else took the full brunt of what was happening. Kanan raced off down the hall after Caleb, and Sabine jumped to her feet, running not for Caleb, but down a side corridor. Hera just stood, stock-still, and Zeb ran off to his room, cursing everything and everyone under his breath.

Kanan sprinted through the corridors, desperately trying to catch up to Caleb, before he escaped, before he really did kill…

But he wouldn't permit the idea to form in his mind. He somehow connected catching Caleb with saving Ezra. If he was found alive, Kanan could somehow reverse what had happened…

Couldn't he?

He thundered around a corner, and saw Caleb's back ahead of him, but knew, immediately, that it was to late… Caleb was too far ahead of him, almost at the cargo bay…

Caleb saw, up ahead, the small doorway to the cargo hold, and ran flat out. He was almost there…

And then, without warning, he felt something collide with his face… He felt his nose break…

And he hurtled off his feet, blood flying everywhere, and rolled over the balcony and out of sight.

Sabine stepped out from her hiding place, just inside the doorway, massaging her elbow. She had been taught a basic clothesline manouvre in the Imperial Academy, but only, she reflected, as required curriculum. Only now did she realise how useful it really was.

When Kanan entered the cargo bay, he crept carefully over the blood stains on the floor, and peered over the balcony.

Caleb lay, on the floor of the hold. Sabine was kneeling at his head. His eyes were closed, but Kanan was relieved to see him breathing. As he got closer, he spoke.

"You didn't manage to kill him, then?"

Sabine raised her head, and stared at Kanan.

"Oh believe me," she said darkly, a shadow crossing her eyes. "I would have. But we need him, to… To save…"

Sabine's words choked off into nothingness, but Kanan understood. He put an arm around her, and said,

"We will, Sabine. We will."

 **Zeb: Yay! I'm innocent!**

 **Me: only because of the fan rage of a thousand and one comments saying Caleb should totally be the poisoner.**

 **Caleb: Hey!**

 **Me: I'm just kidding. I had actually planned out Caleb being the murderer long before I even started writing. (Midnight Luna, looking at you)**

 **Caleb: HEY!**

 **Me: I mean, come on, your brother poisoning you would make a WAY better story than someone who already hated you and who is so incompetent he would use a poison CREATED for his species, that would show up immediately on binary blood scans.**

 **Caleb and Zeb: (Together) HEY!**


	9. Death Of A Defender

_The two boys stood on either side of a large courtyard. A chalk line had been drawn at the middle of the square, and the two boys batted a ball back and forth across the square. Both had identical, wavy blue hair, and matching blue eyes. One of them headed the ball, and it curved towards the left corner of his opponents square. Just before reaching it, however, it curved slightly, and bounced onto the ground, just outside the right-hand corner of the square. The score drew loud cheers from the onlookers, boys and girls of all ages and species. The loser roared in protest, a dark shadow crossing his eyes. He drew both hands together, and batted the oncoming ball right back towards his quarry._

 _A great collective gasp went up from the cloud, as the boy went skidding backwards, cradling his nose as blood flew everywhere._

 _"Ezra!"_

 _A young girl with long blonde hair that reached her back sprinted from the stands, and helped the boy up, before throwing a terrible look at the other._

 _"Look what you did, Caleb!" She exclaimed, scandalised._

 _"Rose-" the boy said, but she had already led the injured boy away, murmuring to him and holding her hand in front of his nose to catch the blood. And Caleb stood, alone on the courtyard, knowing his brother had once again, stolen something from him._

Kanan rushed down the corridor in a terrible rage. He had been waiting hours for this moment and he was going to get what he wanted.

Blinded by rage, he practically ripped the door off of the cell-like closet and stormed at the one inhabitant, a boy with wavy blue hair and sparkling blue eyes. All rational thought fled his mind, as he drew back a fist, and punched the boy in the face with all his might. He then picked him up, and slammed him against the wall, while Hera yelled in protest.

 _"Kanan!"_

But listening came under the terms of, _'rational thought'_ , and that, like all other kinds of thought, had gone to hell.

"The cure!" Kanan growled, his voice barely more than a whisper, and when Caleb failed to answer, he tossed the boy to the ground, and stomped him in the stomach several times. Caleb finally rolled over, but when he looked at Kanan, it was with a look he didn't like at all.

He smiled, showing several missing teeth, (probably from their brief meeting with the back of Sabine's elbow) and spoke in a slow, slurred tone, indicating that he was in pain.

"Don't you get it? THERE IS NO CURE!" He screamed into Kanans face. Hera gasped, but tKanan wasn't willing to give up then.

"You're bluffing." He growled, and Caleb earned another boot to the face for his silence.

"Just ask your fat muscle pal if I'm bluffing!" He yelled.

Kanan picked the boy up, and slammed him into the flat metal plate that served as a bed. Blood poured from his face as his smile showed another few distinctive gaps, whose inhabitants, Kanan was sure, he would find if he ever bothered to clean the room.

"There is no cure! I would have known better than to drug my perfect brother with a curable poison! And…" His voice broke off as his smile stretched, if possible, even wider. "He's entered the fourth stage, hasn't he? HE WILL BE DEAD IN AN HOUR, AND NOTHING YOU DO TO ME WILL-"

And Kanan's fury broke. Grabbing the boy's hair, Kanan slammed Caleb's head into the bed, as the boy fell silent, slumping to the floor, a thin line of drool producing from his mouth.

Kanan stormed out of the cell, ignoring Hera, and locked the door. He would not look at the Twi'Lek. He didn't want to see what was there. He stormed the way down the Ghost. Kanan would see, for his own ears, whether Ezra was curable.

And who better to ask than the Lasat himself?

Kanan did not knock on Zeb's door; he hammered, and before Zeb could say anything, Kanan was already bursting into his room.

All trace of happiness, all trace of the sarcastic humour was gone from Garazeb's face. He turned to look at Kanan, knew what he was going to ask, and wished, with all his heart, that he could give a different answer.

"There isn't one." He said, before Kanan had opened his mouth. "No cure. It's the first poison without a remedy."

Kanan felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. It couldn't be…

And yet it was. Caleb had played his cards right. He had won, one way or another. And nothing anyone did could stop it.

The entire crew was grouped around Ezra's bed, in the medbay. A terrible, cold sadness gripped the place, originating from them all.

 _Betrayed by a brother. What a terrible way to go._ Kanan thought.

Ezra twitched, and his eyes fluttered open. But they were blank, bloodshot, his chest heaving slowly. But far from raising the crew's morale, this just saddened them.

The Fifth Stage. Ezra was dying.

Ezra slowly turned his head, and stared at Kanan, struggling against his body to speak.

"Kanan… I'm… Sorry…" He gasped, and tears welled in his eyes.

He turned his head again, and stared into Sabine's face. His fingers twitched, his left hand extended, reaching for hers. But suddenly, it twitched, and dropped. The blue eyes found the brown, but after a second, something within the blue pair seemed to vanish, leaving them fixed, blank, empty. Ezra's head lolled pathetically, and Kanan felt a terrible wind, whipping through him, stealing feeling and hope from his body, originating from the lifeless form now lying on the bed before him.

Ezra Bridger was dead.


	10. Gain One, Lose One

Sabine felt as though the medbay was flying away… Because… Because Ezra really was…

Kanan gave a groan, and collapsed onto a chair, head in his hands. He wished he could rip out his heart… his innards… everything that was screaming inside him…

Hera covered her face and curled up on a chair, shaking from what Sabine knew to be sobs.

And Sabine, without knowing exactly what her body was now doing, pressed her hand into Ezra's, realising how cold it was, and leaned over and kissed him.

She was never sure exactly how long it was, but as soon as she pulled away, she wanted to leave. She did not want to look at him a moment longer. She stood, and turned to go.

But she stopped. Someone was holding her there. Sabine turned, but what she saw almost gave her a heart attack.

Ezra's hand had curled over her own.

As she waited, she felt a kind of warmth, starting at his fingers, and spreading through his whole hand.

Seconds passed in painfully slow motion.

Then, all at once, Ezra's chest began rising and falling; his electric blue eyes snapped open, and he gave a loud shout.

Kanan jumped to his feet, clutching his heart; Hera gave a loud yelp of surprise, and fell off her chair, and only just avoided being stabbed by a medical vial by Kanan grabbing her and pulling her back.

"EZRA!"

"Ezra?"

"You're alive!"

And so he was. Weak and drenched with sweat, but alive. He stared at them all, and then his face broke into a wide smile.

"HOW?"

Hera had collapsed into a chair; this sudden resurrection had apparently been too much for her, but all eyes were on Zeb. He stared from Sabine to Ezra, and then spoke slowly, carefully, as though he was choosing his words.

"Scientifically…" He began, "when people realised they were about to be poisoned… There was scientific evidence that a high enough heart rate, can… Purge the body of the poison. It was never proven, but…"

His voice trailed off, and Ezra looked at Sabine.

"So, that's why I'm here," he muttered. "You must have raised my heart rate."

No one spoke, although Kanan's concern showed on his face. Suddenly, though, Ezra's grin slid off of his face, to be replaced by a look of urgency.

"Caleb!" He exclaimed. "Caleb poisoned me, he was going to blame it on Zeb, and-"

"Ezra! It's okay, we caught him!" Kanan said, placing a hand on Ezra's shoulder, and easing back onto the bed. Ezra smiled.

"I knew as soon as I collapsed. I've lived with Caleb for years; I know his style."

Everyone smiled. And once they started, it was difficult to stop, until everyone was chuckling. And then, for reasons beyond comprehension, they were all laughing. Finally, under tears of laughter, Ezra spoke.

"So where is my brother now?"

"Oh, we stuffed him in the old closet in the cargo bay," Kanan said, still snorting with laughter. "Him and a few of his teeth that parted with his gums for several reasons."

He looked at Ezra, expecting him to laugh, but felt the grin slide off his face as he saw Ezra's expression, somewhere between fear and concern.

"The… The same closet you locked me in, when I first met you?"

"Y… Yeah?"

"You guys remember he's still related to me, right?"

The world seemed to stand still for a moment. Then, realisation seemed to dawn on everyone's face. Without a word to Ezra, everyone jumped to their feet, and dashed from the room, though Sabine gave Ezra a quick apologetic look as they left.

This time, when they reached the closet, Kanan really did rip the door off, but when they dashed into the room, they were greeted by an empty closet, and the vent panel hanging ajar.

Kanan deactivated his lightsaber, and turned to the crew.

"Where could he be?" Kanan asked. "He has access to the entire ship now!"

"The Phantom?" Hera suggested. "He may want to fly out of here."

"The speeders? More untraceable." Said Zeb.

"No…" muttered Sabine. "He'll still want to-"

The little colour her face had regained drained from it immediately. A glance at the others told her they were thinking the same thing. Without a word, they all thundered out of the closet, and down the hallway.

Caleb growled a little as he circled the bed.

Turning the vibroknife over in his hands, he spoke, with a voice full of fury.

"You think you can live for ever, don't ya'? Well, no… Not this time."

Ezra raised his head a little off the pillows.

"What's it gonna take, Caleb? You tried to poison me and it didn't work, and now, I'm too weak to move, and you still won't kill me."

"Oh yeah?" Caleb's voice was raspy and thick, with his tongue working though the new gaps in his gums. "Why's that?"

"Because my friends are almost right outside the door."

Kanan skidded to a stop outside the medbay, and cast the door open with a flick of his hand. His eyes swept the scene: an empty medbay, and the sheets askew, before Sabine shouted something; Kanan turned to see a pair of legs disappearing through the hatch to the top of the Ghost.

Sabine was quickest, dashing to the hatch, and grabbing the ladder, climbing it with surprising strength and agility, the others close behind.

Sabine's head felt the hatch, and she pushed it open, carefully poking her head out.

Then, several things happened at once.

First, Sabine observed that the top was completely deserted. Two, the second she realised this, strong hands grabbed her from behind and a gruff voice growled in her ear.

"Don't move scum."

Sabine felt hands descend on her shoulder, and she was pulled out of the hatch. She felt her kidnapper move backwards, to the edge of the roof. She felt a vibroblade press to her throat, just as the others emerged from the hatch.

"CALEB!"

Caleb held Sabine tighter by the neck, and took another step backwards. Ezra lay by his side, pale, discarded like an old rag.

"I may have failed to kill Ezra," he growled, holding the blade tighter against Sabine's throat, drawing a gasp from the Mandalorian, "I may have lost, BUT I WILL STILL KILL! And we shall see how Ezra wakes up, and discovers his precious family member DEAD!"

Caleb held the vibroknife so tight against Sabine's neck, it drew blood. He laughed, and prepared to slit the girl's throat…

…

But suddenly, Caleb felt a hand on his shoulder; he released Sabine, and fell backwards…

Ezra was on his feet again; pale and shaking, and seemingly taking all of his energy and willpower to stay on his feet, but he reached out a hand, and shoved.

Caleb stumbled, arms wide, his eyes bulging, and suddenly, Kanan knew what was going to happen before it did.

Caleb stumbled, right to the edge of the Ghost, and tripped.

He was doomed.

Arms splayed, eyes popping out of their sockets, he took a step backwards, and fell.

A sickening _THUD_ echoed through the roof. Kanan dropped his lightsaber, as Ezra collapsed. Kanan helped the boy up, and Ezra spoke.

"My… Brother… I must… See him…"

Kanan did not answer, but simply carried him to the edge of the Ghost, where the others already stood, looking down on the scene below.

Ever since Caleb had escaped, Kanan thought it might come to this, but it was still no preparation to seeing him like this: spread-eagled, broken; a trickle of blood still running down his face. His eyes, so like Ezra's, stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his frozen face.


	11. Epilogue

The next few weeks, many of the Ghost crew felt a definite sense of anticlimax.

Caleb was dead, Ezra was alive and well, everyone felt like it had happened so quickly.

Kanan had been trying to speak with the boy ever since Caleb's death, but since the aftermath of his poisoning, he tended to sleep through the day. In fact, he only ever woke up to eat.

"It's just a side effect of the poisoning," Hera said one day, when Kanan asked about this sudden change of behaviour. "His body needs time to recover."

But time notwithstanding, the only time Ezra had left the comfort of his medbay bed was when they held Caleb's funeral.

A sad time for everyone, Ezra had insisted it go ahead, despite the tiny little detail that Caleb had tried to kill them all.

He was buried in a little meadow just outside Ezra's tower. The flowers growing around there had been Caleb's favourite, and on the day, everyone gathered around the grave. (Ezra supported by Hera, and being given regular injections)

A headstone stood where Caleb's head would have been, and on it read:

 _Caleb Bridger._

 _Find Peace In Death._

 _'He who weakens_

 _family_

 _Is weakest_

 _Himself.'_

Weeks passed, until, one stormy night, something changed.

Hera had just finished dinner, and was about to take a tray of food to Ezra when Sabine stopped her and offered to take the tray in herself. Hera thanked the young girl, and, rubbing her eyes, left to get some sleep. Sabine stood, listening to the sound of rain drumming on the roof for a second, and then headed off to the medbay.

Upon opening the door, Sabine saw that, strangely enough, Ezra was missing.

She contemplated for a moment, and, so deep in thought was she, she failed to realise exactly what she was hearing.

Someone was singing. Listening, she realised it was coming from the roof. Curious, she set the tray down, and climbed the ladder.

When she opened the hatch, the first thing Sabine saw was Ezra.

He was sitting at the edge of the Ghost, in exactly the spot Caleb had fallen. Sabine also realised that it wasn't raining.

Or, rather, the rain wasn't reaching the roof. The drops were collecting as they fell, and gathering into big balls of water that hung, unsupported, above the metal roof. As Sabine approached the boy, she heard him singing.

 _Are you, are you, coming to the tree,_

 _Where they hung, up a man,_

 _They say he murdered three._

 _Strange things, are happening, How stranger would it be,_

 _If we met, at midnight, hanging in the tree._

 _Are you, are you, coming to the tree,_

 _Where dead men called out, for his love to flee._

 _Strange things, are happening, how stranger would it be,_

 _If we met, at midnight, hanging in the tree._

 _Are you, are you, coming to the tree._

 _Where I told, you to run,_

 _So we would both be free._

 _Strange things are happening, how stranger would it be,_

 _If we met, at midnight, hanging in the tree._

 _Are you, are you, coming to the tree._

 _Wear a necklace of hope, side by side with me._

 _Strange things, are happening, how stranger would it be,_

 _If we met, at midnight, hanging in the tree."_

"Beautiful."

If Ezra had any surprise at Sabine's presence, he didn't show it. Sabine sat beside him, and they stared out, over the rain-swept plains of Lothal. No one spoke for a long time, though Sabine burned to ask him the question she had held since that faithful day, when Caleb was discovered.

Although, Ezra seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, because after a while, he spoke.

"Ten years ago," his voice sounded cracked and rasped. "When the stormtroopers took my parents, a girl, called Rose, tried to stop them. She begged for their mercy, but, they didn't give in. And when it became apparent she wasn't going to leave, they… Killed her."

Sabine blinked. There was an edge in Ezra's voice she hadn't heard before. Half of her wanted him to go on, the other half was afraid of what it would hear.

"Caleb… Caleb loved her. But when she died, he blamed me for it."

Sabine remembered how to use her vocal chords at last.

"W… Why?"

"Because she loved me. And, consumed by grief, Caleb saw me as responsible. And when he returned, all these years later, I hoped and prayed with all my heart, that his had changed. *sigh*. It was not the case. And now… Now he sleeps. I only hope he got what he wanted."

Sabine now realised that the water around her eyes was not rain. She hurried to wipe them off, as finally, Ezra looked at her. His face was expressionless, but Sabine felt grief and sadness inside him. It broke her heart.

Neither spoke for a long minute.

And then Sabine saw tears welling up in the boy's eyes, and she felt them in her own, and before Sabine knew exactly what she was doing, she was hugging Ezra, and she felt him hugging her, and she felt tears running down her face, but made no attempt to brush them away. And tears fell from Ezra's eyes, mingling with those of Sabine's, every one of them a gift to the boy who had everything destroyed. His parents, his friend, and now, finally, his brother.

And, out of nowhere, born out of unconscious thought, Sabine realised the one thing she had been trying to deny for days.

"I love you, Ezra."

Ezra did not answer, but from the way he squeezed her for a second, and the increase of tears running down her back, Sabine knew he felt the same way. And Sabine cried harder than ever, until she wasn't even sure what she was crying for anymore.

They were still crying fifteen minutes later when Hera came to see where they were.

- **The End** -

 **Ezra: I'm not dead!**

 **Caleb: I am.**

 **Me: And you deserve it.**

 **Caleb: How? This isn't fair!**

 **Me: Hey, my story, my rules.**

 **Caleb: touché.**

 **Me: And to avoid the stream of comments as with Despair: Hey everyone, last time anyone in my stories sung 'The Hanging Tree', I got a lot of comments saying the lyrics were wrong. Just to clarify, in New Zealand, we sing the song different, so you may have heard different lyrics.**

 **Ezra: Who are you talking to?**

 **Me: whoever's reading this.**

 **Ezra: Someone's reading this?**

 **Me: Why else did you think I was writing down your story?**

 **Ezra: Yeah. Well, bye!**

 **Me: Bye!**


End file.
